How To Avoid Unnecessary Storage Fees

Why would a storage unit facility tell customers how to avoid fees instead of hoping to collect more fees? We want happy storage customers at Stor It Storage. When you come to visit us at our office in Appleton we prefer to see smiles.  Happy customers tell their friends and family about their experience, which leads to more customers. We want your storage experience to be a good one. We take pride in having repeat and referral customers at our Appleton and Neenah locations.

 

Typical Fees That A Storage Facility May Charge

•         Late Fee
•         Overlock Fee
•         NSF Fee
•         Unit Cleaning and Disposal Fees
•         Storage Auction Fees
•         Lock Cutting Fee
•         Emergency Trip Fee

 

Late Fee

Payment for your storage unit is typically due in one of two ways:

1.       On the first of the month. This means that your first month is pro-rated based on how many days are left in the month when you move into your storage unit. This is how we structure our storage due dates. This is simpler us to manage and for you to remember. Everyone’s rent for their unit is always due on the 1^st of the month.
2.       On your anniversary date. If you move in on the 18^th of the month, your rent is due every month on the 18^th.

A storage operator is allowed to charge a late fee if payment for your unit is not received at their office within x days of the due date.  If you have ever rented an apartment you are familiar with late fees in your lease.

 

Overlock Fee

What happens if your payment is not received by the storage facility by the

Due Date, and they still don’t have payment when the Late Fee day comes and goes? A storage facility is allowed to place an ‘overlock’ on your storage unit at a certain point in the month, and charge for this process. An overlock will usually occur in one of two ways:

1.       The lock on your storage unit will be disabled. The storage manager has a key that allows them to make your key no longer work.
2.       Another lock will be placed on your storage unit that only the storage manager has a key to. Your lock will still work, but this second lock will prevent access to your storage unit.

Once you pay the balance for your storage unit, the overlock is removed. The fee is to cover the time for the storage manager to go to your unit and apply the overlock, and return on another trip to allow access to your storage unit.

 

NSF Fee

If you write a check for your storage unit and it does not clear the bank you may be charged this fee.  NSF checks are known as bounced checks or bad checks. The acronym (NSF) also describes the fee incurred from these checks.  A bank will charge a fee for this.  A storage facility will assess a fee to your storage unit account to cover this charge.

 

Unit Cleaning and Disposal Fees

If you leave anything in or near your storage unit when you move out, the storage facility can charge for cleaning out your unit and disposing of the contents. Leave your storage unit the way you found it and you can easily avoid these fees.

 

Storage Auction Fees

 

These fees can really add up. If you fail to pay for your storage unit for three consecutive months state statutes will allow the storage facility to auction your unit in an effort to recover monies owed to them.

 

The storage unit will need to be inventoried and have pictures taken. If the value of the contents of the storage unit are deemed to be less than a certain value the storage facility may dispose of the contents and charge for their time. Letters are mailed to the person who rented the storage unit as well as their alternate contact. Advertisements are places in the local newspaper, usually the Appleton Post Crescent. The auction is conducted in person or online. We now use www.bid13.com for all of our storage unit auctions. No one has to stand in the snow or rain to bid on a unit. Fees can be incurred for many of the above auction procedures.

 

Lock Cutting Fee

 

You lost your keys and can’t get into your storage unit, now what? If it’s your lock, the storage manager may or may not help you. If they do help you, some may charge for this service. If the facility provides the lock and keys, they likely have a spare key in a secured location.

 

We provide the lock and keys at Stor It Storage, so we are here to help you with any lock issues you may have. When a storage customer loses their keys we are able to have them stop by our office with a photo ID and borrow our spare key. Sometime they find their original keys at a later date and do not have to pay for new keys. If you have an issue with the lock to your storage unit, we can stop by and look into the problem without having to set up a time to meet you at your storage unit when you can get there with the keys. This process has allowed us to keep any fees for lock cutting to a minimum. We have not charged anyone this fee and hope to keep it that way.

 

Emergency Trip Fee

 

If you need help with your storage unit after hours or in an emergency a storage facility may charge for this service. We have not charged for this service to date, and will do our best to continue this trend.

 

How Can I Never Pay Any Fees For My Storage Unit?

 

No one loves fees. We don’t rejoice in collecting storage unit fees and honestly wish that all of our customers were set up with automatic payments on the 1st of the month. Autopay would be our first piece of advice for anyone renting a storage unit.

 

Some storage tenants wait to mail their check until the 5th, this is when we commonly see storage fees occur. If you mail your storage payment, mail it early. The postal service is not perfect, delays and holidays happen. Mail your unit payment a few days prior to the 1st of the month and you should be fine.